A Movement of Emotion

“Woman and Her Needs” , written by Elizabeth Oakes Smith, is one of many pieces of literature contributed by female writers during the time of the Women’s Rights Movement in the mid-1800’s.  Though there are still plenty of instances showing inequality between the sexes in the U.S.A. today, the way women now live in our nation is much, much different.  When looking back at the significantly larger lack of women’s rights during the time of Smith, the lifestyle is almost unfamiliar. It is pretty eye-opening to view America in a light that not only excluded rights for women but also resisted the eventual passing of laws that attained them.  The most prominent problem was the need to change the traditionally long held views on how sex determines someone’s role in society.  In “Woman and Her Needs”, Smith’s best attempt at this is through her precise and passionate writing to engage the reader on an emotional level.

            Due to being practiced for so long, the roles of men and women in the 19th century were basically set in stone.  Although it was not thought so at the time, we now believe that there is no reason why a woman cannot do the same jobs as a man.  We think of that as just plain common sense today, but since views were the opposite in Smith’s time, persuading through logic was not as effective as emotionally connecting to the reader.  A good example can be found early in the text, when she is speaking of the movement beginning to occur, “We must meet it, recognize it, and help to direct it wisely.  It argues great things for Woman, and through her for the world.”  Immediately notable is simply the use of the pronoun “We”, which automatically brings the reader into closer contact with the Smith as she states exactly what must be done to accomplish the goal of equality between the sexes.  The fact that “Woman” is capitalized and then referred to as “her” would have most definitely made a female reader feel like she was a part of one whole, aimed towards achieving a common goal that would ultimately better the entire world.

            A large amount of emphasis is put on the word “Woman”, which continues to be capitalized throughout the piece to reiterate the common bond Smith has with her readers.  However, it is not without the help of her deliberately vivid images and connotations given by her words that enable her writing to fully evoke the emotions of the reader.  She repeatedly uses the word “suffering” to show that women are the victims, and when she brings up women who “sneer most at these movements” she even goes so far as to say “they are cruel, selfishly indifferent, or remorselessly severe.”

            “Woman and Her Needs” helped to fuel the fire that would eventually gain equal rights for women, and Elizabeth Oakes Smith made sure to consciously dictate her thoughts through words that grab at the emotions.  As stated before, demonstrating logic was not enough for such a defining movement.  To first make the reader feel part of one whole going for the same cause, and then later showing why those who do not care are flawed, the work ends up having the maximum emotional impact that was needed to gain support and follow through with the movement for women’s rights.